Ravan, a valiant king with Vedic knowledge rules the kingdom of Lanka very well. Shiva blesses him with immense powers. But he misuses his powers to oust the devas from their abodes and conquers their lokas. One day, he catches sight of Vali, the king of monkeys when he is performing his Sandhya. Vali was engrossed in his prayers. So he was unaware of Ravan.
Ravan, driven by his ego decides to indulge in some mischief. He stealthily walks behind Vali and tries to distract him by catching him by his shoulders. But Vali picks up Ravan by his shoulders, holds him aloft like a rag doll, tosses him upwards to his kingdom Kishkindha and tells his son Angad, “O son, here’s a new toy for you to play with. Do as you please with this man called Ravan for he thinks there is no one greater than him in this world and beyond.” Angad looks at his new toy with glee and decides to have some fun at Ravan’s expense.
He ties a rope around Ravan’s neck and parades him around the streets of Kishkindha. The people of Kishkindha come out in large numbers to witness this unique happening. They laugh their hearts out when they see Ravan and say, “Look at the sorry plight of this great Rakshasa king Ravan. He believed he was invincible after he conquered the realms of a few devatas. Poor Ravan, he was unaware that our king Vali has Indra’s most special blessings and is more powerful than 10 such Ravans put together.
O isn’t it a shame to see that power corrupts such Vedic scholars too? Of what use is his knowledge if he forgets that even devas, danavas and daityas meet with the same fate when they indulge their egos instead of nurturing humility.”
When Ravan hears these remarks he realises his mistake. He asks his maternal grandfather rishi Pulatsya to help him out of this crisis. When Rishi Pulatsya hears his nephew’s cries coming from Kishkindha, he wonders how Ravan landed in the abode of the mighty Vali. He is shocked when he sees Angad strutting around the streets of Kishkindha with Ravan in tow.
Ravan cries with relief when he sees rishi Pulatsya and narrates the entire sordid experience to him. Ravan says, “I am sure there is none worse than me in our clan. I have brought shame to all of you with my impulsive behaviour. Look at me. I have become weak. I have lost all my powers because of this noose. Now I am worried and anxious. I don’t know what to do. O grandfather is there any way in which I can rectify my mistake? Can I ever regain my earlier status as the valiant Rakshasa King of Lanka?”
Rishi Pulatsya looks at Ravan and wonders how much of the future he should reveal to his arrogant nephew. After pondering over the matter for a long time calmly he finally says “Vali is the spiritual son of Indra and the biological son of Vriksharaja. Therefore he is much stronger than you. But fear not. For Vali too is destined to die soon at the hands of Dasharath’s son Rama. So don’t waste your powers trying to take revenge on Vali or Angad.”
Rishi Pulatsya then looks at Ravan kindly and says, “For now focus on regaining your powers and kingdom for you have a lot more in store for you. Know that in a different age and time, Indra too faced this same sorry plight when he had to overthrow Vritra, the invincible asura.
Shiva had blessed Vritra with immense powers. But like you, instead of using those siddhis to help mankind and maintain peace in his kingdom he used his powers to overthrow the devatas from their abodes. Like you, Indra was humiliated beyond measure. Like you, he too wondered if he would ever be able to rule over his kingdom again.
That is when lord Dattatreya appears before all the devas and devatas and asks them to hymn the Ekakshari mantra “Gan” and meditate upon the Lambodara form of Ganesha during the month of Pausha. He asks them to worship different aspects of lord Ganesha on different months while performing the Vrat of Sankashti every month. O valiant Ravana, you too will be able to regain your lost powers and kingdom if you observe the Vrat of Sankashti.”
Rishi Pulatsya leaves for the forest after advising Ravan. Ravan observes a fast on all Sankashtis after that. He performs all the rituals of Sankashti meticulously and much to his delight lord Lambodara helps him win back his kingdom and regain his reputation too.”
Yudhishtra asks Krishna, “Are the Sankashti rituals for Pausha different from the other months? Which form of lord Ganesha should we worship in Pausha? What should we offer Him and how should we fast during this month?”
Krishna says, “On the Pausha Sankashti, seat the Lambodara Maha Ganapati form of Ganesha on a Soura Peeta. Lambodara Maha Ganapati is the Sankat Nashini form of Ganesha. The rituals are mostly the same in all Sankashtis. But offer pure ghee while performing the havan and kheer as naivedya to Lambodara Maha Ganapati. Behave like a Brahmachari. Control your anger and rein in your ego while fasting. Avoid sleeping during the day.
Catch a glimpse of the moon after you perform the pooja. Feed a few Brahmins and break your fast by drinking Gau mootra.
Lord Lambodara Maha Ganapati blesses all his devotees and removes all the obstacles from their lives when they fast on Sankashtis.” O Yudhishtra, like Ravan, you too will win back your kingdom if you perform this Vrat of Sankashti with devotion.”
Inspired by these Vrat Kathas, Yudhishtra too performs all the rituals perfectly and fasts on all Sankashtis. And with lord Lambodara Maha Ganapati’s blessings, he too is able to conquer his enemies and win back his kingdom.
Indra is the king of devatas. And Ravan, a Vedic scholar. They had everything that they yearned for in their lives. Yet instead of using their powers wisely they succumbed to the headiness of power and found it difficult to control their arrogance.
We are mere manavas. None of us is blessed with such divine powers. That is why these sankashti vrat kathas have been passed down to us. They create awareness in our minds. And show us the consequences of falling prey to such vices. Now we have to take the responsibility. We can choose to dismiss this as just another interesting vrat katha or apply these insights in our lives and live through it with awareness.
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